News Release

Heavy Support Comes from Conservative Christian Network

Sue O'Connell or Edwin Bender, 406-449-24802006-01-27
HELENA, Mont. – State-level amendments banning same-sex marriages in 13 states in 2004 drew $13.4 million in contributions to ballot committees, with supporters of the measures raising slightly more than opponents, a new study shows.

Supporters raised $6.8 million, while opponents raised $6.6 million. The largest groups of contributors were advocates of gay and lesbian rights, conservative Christian organizations, and churches, the analysis by the Institute on Money in State Politics found.

The analysis also shows that a network of longtime and well-connected conservative political activists, many with ties to conservative Christian groups, were heavily involved in the amendments defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The groups -- including Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council and the American Family Association -- not only gave campaign funds to ballot committees but also organized and supported them through other means in many states, the report noted.

Groups and individuals affiliated with the network, known as the Arlington Group, contributed nearly $2 million to committees supporting the amendments, the study found. They also formed campaign committees in 11 of the 13 states and gave money to ballot committees in 11 of the states.

Meanwhile, many of the Arlington Group members -- particularly Focus on the Family and associated groups -- have been active in continuing efforts to put marriage definitions on the ballot in additional states, including the recently passed amendment in Texas and a California effort that was dropped in December. The group's members also are working on efforts in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin, the report notes.

"The proliferation of these marriage-definition ballot measures in a quarter of the states during the same election cycle shows how easily journeyman political organizers, whether conservative or liberal, can manipulate the electoral debate with hot-button issues," said Edwin Bender, the Institute's executive director. "This study shows that the strategy was very effective. We can expect more of the same in 2006."

The Institute is a national, nonprofit organization that collects and analyzes campaign contribution reports for state-level candidates and party committees in all 50 states. Its searchable database of contributions is available online at www.followthemoney.org.

With support from the JEHT Foundation, the Institute has expanded its data collection to include contributions to ballot measure committees. Those contributions also are available online at www.followthemoney.org.

The Institute's analysis of the marriage amendments shows that national gay- and lesbian-rights groups also were active in the ballot fights, giving $1.9 million in seven states. Contributions from other advocates for gay and lesbian rights brought the total from this group of givers to slightly more than $3 million, to rank as the top-contributing group.

Conservative Christians ranked second among contributor groups, giving $2.2 million, followed by churches and church-related businesses or groups, which gave $1.9 million. Fully $1 million of that amount came from seven Roman Catholic dioceses in Michigan. Almost all of the church contributions favored the amendments, with only $12,000 of the nearly $2 million going to committees that opposed the marriage definitions.

Three contributors who ranked among the top 20 non-individual givers spread their money across state lines. Two of the groups support gay and lesbian rights: the Human Rights Campaign, which gave almost $1.1 million in five states, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which gave almost $790,000 in six states. Focus on the Family, an Arlington Group member, gave $255,600 in seven states.

Contributions from Arlington Group members went most heavily to three states often considered battlegrounds in the 2004 presidential contest, the Institute's data shows. Members of the group gave:

-- $1.18 million of the $1.19 million raised by the key committee backing Issue 1 in Ohio, and 98 percent of all the money raised in support of the amendment. They also paid professional signature gatherers, formed ballot committees and endorsed the amendment in radio ads.

-- about $546,600 in Michigan, or 28 percent of the total raised in support of the Proposal 2. Group members also were active in placing the amendment on the ballot and formed four ballot committees in support.

-- $138,364 in Oregon, or about 6 percent of the total raised to support Measure 36. Focus on the Family gave all of those funds; its leader, James Dobson, also spoke to Oregon ministers as they rallied to support the measure.

The full report is available on the Institute's Web site, www.followthemoney.org.